A Place For Art

Welcome to my website, this new place for my art. I’ve long been dreaming of a site to showcase my painting and mixed media, and now it has become a reality.

A Place For Art

I’ve known since 2013 that I needed to make changes in my artistic life to allow a new creativity to come forth.

That year, my stepmother was quite ill, and she continued to decline until she passed away on May 28, four years ago today. She had always championed my art, giving me my first watercolor paints, paper, and brushes. She also got me my first painting commission.

Years later, she remained enthusiastic about my work. After she died, I felt her presence so strongly in my life, urging me to return to making art in a new and much bigger way.

As I grappled with what this meant, I came to see that it would require changes to nearly every aspect of my life.

Starting Within

What does it mean to have a place for art in my life?

I started within, by making space in my mind and heart for this impulse to make things and share them with the world.

I spent a good deal of time in prayer and meditation, asking for guidance and seeking my next steps.

Reorganizing Without

Eventually, I returned to my studio with a new sense of purpose and some glimmers of clarity.

I knew I also needed to make space physically to allow the inspirations coming to me to take form somehow. That meant taking time to clean and re-order my studio to make it a new home for a newly emerging me.

I pulled out work from decades past, giving myself the first real opportunity in years to make sense of where I’d come from creatively. As I looked at what I’d done before, I felt such a powerful urge to move on to someplace new…and to return to my roots in watercolor.

Preparing Myself

Over several months, I came to see that this growing inner urge to create in a new way also would require reinventing myself on the physical plane.

By 2015, a minor skin problem had grown into a severe case of eczema that covered nearly half my body, causing a hot and itchy agony that kept me awake most nights. I know now that this hot and angry rash was telling me how much anger I felt at not allowing myself to express my feelings. It also was a wake-up call to return to my creative roots and allow that powerful inner me to speak and lead me in daily life.

With help from various holistic practitioners, I was able to heal my skin. It took several months, but by summer 2015, nearly all the rash had disappeared, and one of my physicians urged me to consider a vegan diet to support all the changes I’d already made.

I felt resistance at first but soon decided to give this plan six weeks to see what would happen. I figured I’d probably eat vegan for the summer and then scrap it. At first, I had my share of challenging days adapting my cooking style and shopping lists, but I stuck with it.

I’m glad I did. In just a few weeks, I began to change profoundly. The first side effect: my skin started to glow. The second: pounds started to fall away, by themselves it seemed.

So I stuck with it. And I felt really good and started to enjoy much more physical activity. After several months, 55 pounds had disappeared. And I felt lighter emotionally and mentally and spiritually, too.

A New Freedom

In the past year, I have felt a new freedom. My body, mind, and spirit have released so much heaviness that I carried for so many decades.

In 2017, I can see that all my preparations have brought me to a new place where my art is freer to come forth. I am seeing dramatic changes in what I want to paint, how I want to make things, and what I want to express.

This new website is my new place to share my journey with you. I thank you for visiting, and I hope you find something in my work to uplift and inspire you on your own journey.

I enjoyed your painting. The one with the sun on the water reminded me of a painting I did years ago. It came to me on a reflective moment. I was probably trying to recapture this image I would see in the future. I’ll send you a copy of it when I can.
Your paintings are very inspiring!

Anne,
Thank you for sending me your blog. You are one of the most well-rounded individuals I have met. I enjoy your enthusiasm, intellect, and caring demeanor. Thank you for your words of wisdom and kindness. I am so happy you found a wonderful “new” way of life.